Dear wonderful VES team,

Hope you are well! As we reach the end of another week, I just want to say a big thank you again. I had a particular moment of gratitude yesterday morning around 9:45 in the ACH - looking at around 10 team members from 7 nationalities (across 4 continents!) serving in a variety of ways before the session had even started: setting out the space, preparing the kids room, facilitating refreshments, redecorating the back office, and welcoming first-time visitors. What really struck me was that over half of those serving on the team were students. VES is more than just running classes, we're trying to build a collaborative community - where everyone can receive, participate and contribute and it's often in the 'contribution' where we see a lot of the transformation happening....

Pictured above - Mondays are close to capacity again - a good problem to have! We are looking at ways to encourage some of the students into the Higher Level mornings (which are also beginning to fill up again )

Spotlight: Different Ways To Build The Community

Traditionally, most VES volunteering has been in teaching and classroom support - and that remains absolutely central. But as the work grows, so does the variety of ways people can serve and contribute to what we’re building together: a welcoming, safe, and valued learning community.

Here are a few current opportunities:

Front of House - Tuesday & Thursday mornings
This is our crucial front desk role - helping create a welcoming front door to the school. It involves greeting students, helping with sign-in and some laptop-based admin, answering enquiries, coordinating team, and generally helping things run smoothly. We’re looking for people who are welcoming, patient, practical, happy to muck in, and comfortable giving light direction to other volunteers and students.

ACH Youth Support Drop-In — Tuesday afternoons (3:45–5:45pm)
A friendly, low-key space for young people in the asylum system (secondary school age). Volunteers help with homework support, English practice, conversation, and some fun (table tennis, cards etc.). If you’re warm, encouraging, and good with teenagers, this could be a great place to serve.

Kids Team — (Esp Wednesday mornings)
We have space for volunteers who are happy to help look after little ones, or run low-key simple English practice for parents who prefer to stay in the creche room with their children.

Short-term Project help
We also have some project-style opportunities coming up:
• Half-term week: continuing to uplift the ACH - including painting and sorting / inventorying storage cupboards
• February: a new round of grant applications - research and admin support very welcome!

If you, or someone you know, might be a good fit for any of these, I’d love to hear from you - just hit reply, or speak to me at the ACH.

As always, a gentle reminder: we strongly discourage volunteering for more than two sessions per week. Our target for volunteer involvement is that it's both enjoyable and sustainable

VES Dashboard (week at a glance)
• 21 classes delivered across 4 days (plus 3 creche sessions)
• 255 student sessions enabled
• 56 volunteer sessions given
• Weekly participation number: 349
• +75% increase on the same week last year - and our highest ever attendance outside of the last Christmas social week

Dates reminder
• February half-term: 16–20 February (no classes)
• Last session of term: Thursday 26 March (Easter Party)

Thank you again for all that you give - your time, patience, skill, compassion, and flexibility! You are helping build something life-giving week by week.

Hope you have a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

Much love,

Andy Brims

Safeguarding reminder — If in doubt, shout. The simplest route is via the concerns form here: https://croydonvineyard.org.uk/safeguarding

VES Team End of Week Update | Different Ways To Build Community